The International Interior Design Association Northern Pacific Chapter
recently hosted its 2012 INawards ceremony, honoring the best in
Northwest design. Here are the winners, starting with Design in Home winner Lake Washington Shores, Garret Cord Werner, LLC. "The dramatic center pavilion is the focus of the architecture, displaying a grand 35-foot-long dining table that floats on two pedestals. The table was engineered and constructed out of reclaimed mahogany wood and nickel plated steel sections and may be disassembled to provide a flexible party space. These natural materials were used throughout the whole house to create a unified atmosphere with an elegant yet comfortable finish. Flanking the center pavilion is a floating living room over a reflecting pond and a media room family area at the opposite end with kitchen and bar. The master bathroom features a custom design sunken Japanese bath and frameless window that creates a private garden oasis. In the end, the home merges the exterior and interior spaces to provide a seamless environment with the northwest landscape sticking within the clients’ $500,000 budget." less

The International Interior Design Association Northern Pacific Chapter recently hosted its 2012 INawards ceremony, honoring the best in Northwest design. Here are the winners, starting with Design in Home ... more

Ingraham High School, Integrus Architecture. This new classroom wing addition turned an existing courtyard into an interior space with skylights, added a new plaza, used interior windows to share light and create visual continuity between classrooms and corridors and included an open staircase with a tiered seating area, creating a forum-like space.

Bucheon Clinic, Bucheon, South Korea, by NBBJ. The clinic caters to women's healthcare needs, specializing in childbirth. It's goal is to create a spa-like environment. "The building’s interior design conveys a sense of light and openness, reinforcing the hospital’s branding and image of being connected to nature while providing an atmosphere of comfort and healing," according to the contest writeup. "Clarity of movement and continuity of experience guide the design from entry to patient room with special attention to detail. Key experiences are emphasized with form, materiality and lighting with focus on the needs of mothers and babies. Access to natural light and views is provided throughout the building with floor to ceiling transpaent and fritted glazing. A simple, neutral palette of soft whites and deliberate color accents reinforce way-finding principles and ceates an overall atmosphere of inspiration, learning and celebration."

Pensar, SkB Architects. Pensar, an industrial design firm, wanted a space that ensured security, while enhancing the design process and their culture of creativity, and conveying a high level of design. Features include a compressed entry hall and associated futuristic decontextualized meet/greet “chamber” that suggest a streamline machined sensibility; and a studio in an envelope of an old building structure of exposed wood beams, concrete floors and divided light windows, with open spaces that support flexible, agile changes for shifting team structures.

Swedish Multiple Sclerosis Center, Seattle, Callison. "Since some MS patients suffer from impaired vision, the design includes a special wayfinding program to guide patients easily and safely throughout the clinic. A hallmark of this program is the living 'green wall' of plants that serves as a unique visual reference, greeting patients as they step from the elevator, guiding them to one of the two mirroring clinics on either wing of the Center. Signage offers bright color contrasts and art is big in scale and easy to perceive. Materials and finishes were selected for ease of movement, with transitions between materials carefully contrasted and placed to reduce potential of trips and falls. Handrails offer needed support and opportunity for respite. Sliding doors and automatic door operators improve access and ease of movement within the clinic. Exam rooms were designed with wide sliding doors. The use of floor to ceiling windows, transparent doors and open patient areas helps infuse natural light into every area within the Center – from the lobby and patient room corridors, to the wellness center and gym. An outdoor terrace provides staff and patients a welcome reprieve with views of Swedish’s First Hill campus and tree-lined streets. Perhaps the Center’s most unique feature is the Outdoor Therapy Terrace, where patients practice walking on various kinds of surfaces and in various kinds of real weather conditions. The terrace includes an overhead patient-lift system configured into the garden trellis, which patients connect to via a safety harness. This is the only such system at an MS Center in the country.

Black+Blue, BOX Interior Design Inc. The aim was to "create a classic steakhouse that references the forms and traditions of the past but is ultimately modern and relevant today." Features include a gallery-style mezzanine around the perimeter to foster human scale in the large, high-ceilinged space; a glass elevator and interior staircase; a custom 12-foot-square meat locker with back wall of illuminated Himalayan salt bricks; 12-foot-long crystal chandeliers; and 14-foot-high custom millwork wine displays that ring the mezzanine.

Charles Smith Wines Tasting Room & World Headquarters, in Walla Walla, Olson Kundig Architects. This project used the shell of the former Johnson Auto Electric building, built in 1917. "The design team was inspired by Charles’ in-your-face attitude to create a raw space that highlights the original aesthetics of the building while inserting highly flexible pieces. ... The resulting space can transform from an office, tasting room and retail store into a dining and entertainment venue." Elements include hand-cranked pivot doors highlighted the automotive history of the building and form an awning for outdoor seating; floating “rafts” that serve as a seating area/stage; tasting tables that dock together to form a dining table; a sliding panel that can function as a video screen; and the "armadillo," a space that contains a conference room and workspaces for 14 people, with L-shaped steel panels that slide along the side and top of the structure, alternately opening it up to views of the tasting room and natural light from above or shutting it down for security and privacy. Vehicles, such as delivery vans and taco trucks, can literally drive through the space.

Gilbert Residence, Evoke International Design Inc. "Our approach was to ensure streetscape uniqueness by individualizing the facade through the use of different materials (zinc, stucco, stone and Ipe), massing and fenestration. While aesthetically different from the neighbors, the house strives to maintain the scale, landscaping, privacy and connection to the public space of the streetscape. The small, (2200 square feet) floor plan have a larger sense of space due to open planning, minimal number of single-use rooms and fluidity of movement from inside to outside."

Federal Way Public Schools New Elementary Schools Program Phase II, (Sunnycrest and Lakeland elementary schools), DLR Group. The design defines spaces by capacity, rather than specific functions, creating flexible learning spaces that are all wired and plumbed in the same way, and use mobile furnishings. "The school offers a grid of formal learning spaces, which are bisected by an asymmetrical interstitial Network containing the school’s common areas. ... Individual areas (group learning, display, library, lunchroom, etc.) are defined by structural accents and color, but remain largely open to one another, encouraging progression and connection through the school while still providing distinct spaces."

Design in Public honorable mention: Federal Way Public Schools... Photo-3716587.52225 - seattlepi.com

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Design in Mass honorary mention -- sustainability:

Glumac, Gensler. Glumac, an engineering firm, wanted a new office that fostered increased collaboration between all disciplines, helped with recruiting and retention, and showing a commitment to sustainability. The design does this with an open, light-filled neighborhood work area that gives 99 percent of employees a view and access to daylight; collaboration areas in each "neighborhood"; and a Lab space where people can experiment with new technologies. Environmental features include chilled sails for heating and cooling, custom LED lighting, daylight sensors that automatically control all perimeter blinds, operable windows, and use of recycled and sustainable materials.